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My wicket was the turning point: Tendulkar

Melbourne: Sachin Tendulkar said his dismissal was the turning point on the second day of the first Test here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

“The partnership we had (65 with Sourav Ganguly), if we had converted into a big one, it would have really helped the batters coming down the order,” said Tendulkar. “It was a big wicket.”

No complaints

Asked about the approach of the Indian openers, Tendulkar said, “This is Test cricket, sometimes there are brilliant spells that you have to play out. Today (Thursday) was like that. Both openers had to fight it out and there was not much rotation of strike in the first five or six overs. But, I have no complaints about the openers.”

Tendulkar added that Dravid’s role as opener must be judged at the end of the series and not after one innings; he, however, refused to be drawn into whether Dravid would open in all four Tests.

Thrilled

Stuart Clark, whose four-wicket haul helped Australia take command, said Tendulkar’s wicket was a big thrill. “He was batting beautifully. It was a matter of forcing him back a bit, putting him on the backfoot,” said Clark. “Hopefully we’ll be able to keep the same pressure on him (in other innings), and even if we don’t get him out, prevent him from scoring.”

Brett Lee said crossing the milestone of 250 Test wickets “feels fantastic”. As the leader of Australia’s attack, Lee said he was proud of how well his mates bowled. “In team meetings we have talked about being patient, and I think we built momentum and pressure really well. This is a brilliant batting line-up we are up against, but they never really got away from us.”